Battle of Colmen-Kraus (The Eternal Conflicts)
The First Battle of Colmen-Kraus, generally known as 1CK, was the first of a series of destructive conflicts that would engulf the Republican planet of Colmen. Launched by the Corporate Bloc Alliance, led by the National Verlin Corporation, the engagement was triggered from a mutual desire to secure control of the largest mining industry in the UTR, called by most veterans, "The Gem of the War." This military engagement would start on the 23rd of May, and continue for six days, with the Corporate Bloc retaining the advantage for the majority of the week. At the conclusion, the UTR forces would launch a counter-attack that shattered the lines of the NVC, bringing forth a ensuing rout that drove the Corporate Forces from the Zone. Movement of Forces Just over a month after the NVC's victory during Operation Eden and the signature of the Corporate Constitution, Chairman Damien Qeri, assigned the former UTR officer, CEO Reden Ex, as General of the Armies and Navies. Ex established his authority over the General Staff, drafting plans to seize the mining capital of the UTR at Colmen, landing the 9th Army on 4 separate planets, concluding with the transportation to Kraus, the nearest habitable planet to Colmen. Arthur Windsor, the Governor of Colmen, conducted a emergency draft of 50 million soldiers, preparing for a land invasion of the island on behalf of the 3rd Corporate Fleet that was threatening the planet. Windsor activated the capable but restricted planetary shield system, using long-range artillery to threaten the advance of the Corporate Forces, led by Admiral Nicholson Detris. Detris, intent on keeping his forces intact, landed a fraction of his forces to quell the last remaining resistance on the freezing planet of Kraus. Prelude to the Battle - Arrival of the 8th With 500 million soldiers aboard the 3rd Corporate Fleet, and another 100 million occupying Kraus as a defensive position, the hopes of the Mining capital seemed dim, despite lengthy prepare time from the successful bombardment of the 3rd fleet. In the morning of the 22nd of May, a series of transportation battalions were sent down to infiltrate the shield defelections of Colmen, with nearly 60% of the elite landing force arriving without distrubance. This Corporate force launched a series of attacks against the shield generators placed across the planet, with some conflicts concluding in victory, and others in failure. By noon, the majority of the Confederate force had been evacuated, with enough gaps in the Colmen Shielding System to initiate a bombardment. However, for some unknown reason, Nicholson delayed his bombardment until the following morning, when he was awoken by a group of attendants that declared the Republican 8th Fleet had arrived. The 8th, which had been falsely believed to be on the other side of the UTR, entered the scene of the engagment under Randall Smith, Supreme Admiral of the Fleets. The Battle The Corporate Fleet composed of 72 Battleships, 35 Frigates, 1000 fighters, and 27 Dreadnoughts, which most historians describe as being superior to the 8th Republican Force by at least two-fifths. Nonetheless, Smith was the first to launch a offensive, calling up 11 Battleships and 100 fighters to weaken the right flank of the Corporate Force. However, their approach to the right was noticed by their enemy, which had organized into a line formation, allowing them to release a horde of fire at the offensive unit. From the initial advance, only 12 fighters and 7 Battleships returned in condition. Following such a action, Smith realized that victory could only be achieved through a defensive tactic, arranging a simular line that his opponent had embodied. The withdraw of the fighter brigade and the subsequent standstill of forces, put the Corporate Fleet in the position of neccesary attack, for every moment lost the threat of Republican reinfocements built.